NO. 48. AN ACT RELATING TO THE
IDLING OF MOTOR VEHICLE ENGINES ON SCHOOL PROPERTY.

(S.13)

It is hereby
enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Vermont:

Sec. 1. 23 V.S.A. § 1282(f) is added to read:

(f) Subject to state board of
education rules, which may provide for limited idling, the operator of a school
bus shall not idle the engine while waiting for children to board or to exit
the vehicle at a school and shall not start the engine until ready to leave the
school premises. The board, in consultation with the agency of natural
resources, the department of health, and the department of motor vehicles,
shall adopt rules to implement this subsection. The rules shall set forth
periods or circumstances that reasonably require the idling of the engine,
including periods when it is necessary to operate defrosting, heating, or
cooling equipment to ensure the health or safety of the driver or passengers or
to operate auxiliary equipment; and periods when the engine is undergoing
maintenance or inspection.

Sec. 2. SCHOOL BOARDS; VEHICULAR IDLING

Nothing in this act or in
department of education rules shall prevent a school board from adopting idling
policies for motor vehicles other than school buses when present on school
premises. By January 1, 2008, the department of education shall develop a
model policy relating to idling of vehicles other than school buses to be
distributed to schools for their use.

Sec. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE

This act shall take effect on
passage. The rules required by this act shall take effect during the 2007–2008
academic year.